The Trump administration is drawing on Roman Empire imagery, and Trump’s own version of Christianity, to reinforce its perception of Western values and impose conditional bilateral partnerships. Europeans need to be ready for America’s whole-hearted shift towards values-based diplomacy
Ursula von der Leyen and Donald Trump have announced a 15% tariff on most EU goods exported to the US. The compromise has avoided a trade war for now—but Europeans need to safeguard the deal’s positive aspects in future trade negotiations
British prime minister Keir Starmer’s successful ‘reset’ with Europe highlights an underlying incoherence. The only rational long-term strategy is to rejoin the EU, but British politics is far removed from that
If Europeans pull back on their climate obligations, they will endanger both their green agenda and their competitiveness
The EU and its member states are applying tools of economic statecraft. Now is the time for a full assessment of how well they have worked
If the ECB is disciplined in its use of the recently announced Transmission Protection Instrument, this could turn out to be exactly what Europe needs
The holiday period could erode public interest in Ukraine. Europeans should recognise that their attitudes towards Russia’s war on the country have consequences
Europeans have set out on a journey towards greater economic sovereignty. They will only reach their destination if they learn to navigate an interconnected world
The EU has made insufficient progress in enhancing its sovereignty, particularly in security and defence. The union now needs to overcome internal differences to bolster its external ability to act
The EU needs a sanctions doctrine – a framework to set out the goals, means, and risks for the use of economic measures
Spain, and Europe, need a new story about migration – it remains to be seen how the country will put this into practice
The EU’s survival depends on protecting its citizens from the forces it has created
In the continued absence of a policy, European commercial actions in the armament sector could have a destabilising impact on Asian security
Taking early steps to tackle humanitarian crises is a chance to show the EU has not entirely lost a sense of strategic purpose and that it is able to meet moral
European states and institutions have to consider the challenges posed by Russian-based organised crime, and adopt measures to combat it
European counter-terror wars risk failing to prevent attacks while weakening international law
A British exit from the EU would make it harder to fight crime and terrorism, reduce Britain’s ability to lead and influence its partners, and weaken NATO
Europe can more sustainably and cost-efficiently handle refugee arrivals by centralising management at a European level
Why migration, finance and trade are the geo-economic battlegrounds of the future
Following France’s call for European solidarity under Article 42.7, European states should rekindle defence cooperation and aid France’s deployments in Africa
The Trump administration is drawing on Roman Empire imagery, and Trump’s own version of Christianity, to reinforce its perception of Western values and impose conditional bilateral partnerships. Europeans need to be ready for America’s whole-hearted shift towards values-based diplomacy
Ursula von der Leyen and Donald Trump have announced a 15% tariff on most EU goods exported to the US. The compromise has avoided a trade war for now—but Europeans need to safeguard the deal’s positive aspects in future trade negotiations
British prime minister Keir Starmer’s successful ‘reset’ with Europe highlights an underlying incoherence. The only rational long-term strategy is to rejoin the EU, but British politics is far removed from that
If Europeans pull back on their climate obligations, they will endanger both their green agenda and their competitiveness
The EU and its member states are applying tools of economic statecraft. Now is the time for a full assessment of how well they have worked
If the ECB is disciplined in its use of the recently announced Transmission Protection Instrument, this could turn out to be exactly what Europe needs
The holiday period could erode public interest in Ukraine. Europeans should recognise that their attitudes towards Russia’s war on the country have consequences
Europeans have set out on a journey towards greater economic sovereignty. They will only reach their destination if they learn to navigate an interconnected world
The EU has made insufficient progress in enhancing its sovereignty, particularly in security and defence. The union now needs to overcome internal differences to bolster its external ability to act
The EU needs a sanctions doctrine – a framework to set out the goals, means, and risks for the use of economic measures
A critical mass of countries agree on the need for more flexible cooperation, but what could it look like?
Humanitarian crises in places like Afghanistan, Yemen or Ethiopia are not only a reflection of internal turmoil – but mirror a much grander development: system failure
The over 90-hour European Council summit in Brussels ended with a deal on a €1.82 trillion financial package. What does…
In his opening remarks at our virtual Annual Council Meeting, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, spoke about Germany’s Presidency of the Council of the EU…
The coronavirus crisis brought about financial hardship for the European Union, and many agree that a recovery fund would be needed to overcome it. In…
The recent Franco-German proposal for an EU recovery fund sparked a lively debate on possible changes in EU’s nature, suggesting that the plan to raise…
During the Munich Strategy Forum 2019, host Mark Leonard sat down Toomas Ilves, the former president of Estonia aka the first smart country and “digital…
The multilateral system faces three related crises of power, relevance, and legitimacy. This fraying consensus threatens the EU, which is committed to multilateralism. But the…
Anthony Dworkin steps in for Mark Leonard and speaks with Jose Ignacio Torreblanca, Federica Paddeu, and Sergey Sukhankin, about what risks the recognition of Juan…
Anthony Dworkin speaks with Gerald Knaus about how the EU can protect human rights and prevent rising illiberalism. Bookshelf: Moral Tribes by Joshua…
Mark Leonard speaks with Erica Moret and Manuel Lafont Rapnouil about European sanctions policies, secondary sanctions and counter measures. The podcast was recorded on the…
Since the return of U.S. President Donald Trump to the White House in January, European policymakers have been struggling to sketch a sensible response to Trumponomics – an unpredictable, fast-changing and often baffling mix of U.S. trade, investment and finance policies that have a direct impact on Europe’s interests. In her latest ECFR policy brief, Agathe Demarais…
The event contributes to the wider Ukraine Recovery Conference by examining a critical dimension of Russia’s war against Ukraine: the economic infrastructure underlying the conflict and the maritime security challenges it creates for Europe. It aims to create space for discussion among key experts and stakeholders on policy options to address Russian economic circumvention mechanisms…
Days before a high-stakes NATO summit, the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) hosts to a timely webinar on European public attitudes towards Europe’s defence, the first turbulent months of President Trump’s new term, and the capacity of Europe to respond to a changing transatlantic reality. This webinar will launch our brand-new public opinion report,…
As Africa becomes an increasingly central arena for Russia’s interests, the role of the United States and China is undergoing significant transformation. With Trump’s return to the White House, a broader US economic-military repositioning in Africa to contain external influences seems to occur, while Beijing continues to deepen its structural economic presence across the continent,…
La temporanea sospensione dei dazi imposti dagli Stati Uniti nei confronti dell’Unione Europea non consente all’Europa di abbassare la guardia. Al contrario, è questo il momento di riflettere sia sulla strategia negoziale da adottare, sia sul più ampio contesto delle relazioni economiche transatlantiche. Dalle politiche commerciali e digitali alle leve finanziarie e infrastrutturali strategiche, sono…
The EU lacks cohesive governance to deploy economic statecraft tools, such as sanctions and export controls, undermining their impact and the bloc’s global credibility. In this webinar, Agathe Demarais and Abraham Newman will discuss their recent policy brief, outlining how the creation of an EU network focused on the design and implementation of these…
The 2025 Tech Summit explores the upcoming challenges and the necessary actions for the EU to bolster its technological sovereignty while enhancing its competitive edge globally. The topic of achieving a balance between innovation and regulation by empowering the EU to harness digital diplomacy and shape international technology governance has been a key focus. Along…
La Conferenza sulla Sicurezza di Monaco e i dialoghi in Arabia Saudita tra americani e russi hanno messo in luce il tentativo di creare un nuovo ordine mondiale, che potrebbe tuttavia minacciare l’assetto liberale e, soprattutto, indebolire l’Europa. La nuova amministrazione Trump, principale artefice di questi cambiamenti, rischia di mettere gli europei gli uni contro…
ECFR is organizing a series of closed-door workshops in the framework of the project “Towards an Open, Free and Global Internet” funded by Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo and in partnership with Italian foreign policy magazine Formiche. After a first meeting on the content layer of the internet, which was held in Rome in June…
